Introduction

“It’s always been fascinating to me how things can be simultaneously true and false, how people can be good and bad all in one, how someone can love you in a way that is beautifully selfless while serving themselves ruthlessly.”

Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life.

When she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one in the journalism community is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now? Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband, David, has left her, and her career has stagnated. Regardless of why Evelyn has chosen her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.

Summoned to Evelyn’s Upper East Side apartment, Monique listens as Evelyn unfurls her story: from making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the late 80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way. As Evelyn’s life unfolds—revealing a ruthless ambition, an unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love—Monique begins to feel a very a real connection to the actress. But as Evelyn’s story catches up with the present, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.

My Thoughts

Last year around this time, before the pandemic ruined everyone’s life, I got closer with one of my friends from high school and she recommended this book to me on a very emotional night in her car. I kept putting off reading it mostly because I didn’t have the energy last year to read anything other than what I needed for classes. Then 2021 came around and I started reading for fun again and my friend descended upon me like an owl reminding me to give this book a chance.

I finally did and I don’t regret taking so long to read it. Something so beautiful did not deserve to be tainted by the negativity of 2020. Firstly, I loved this book. I can say confidently from now that this book will make my Top 10 of 2021 along with The Song of Achilles and These Violent Delights. What do these three books have it common, you might ask? They all had me sobbing over their more intense plot twists.

Lets get into the characters:

The enigmatic, the illusive, the illustrious Evelyn Hugo. What a woman. When I was finally able to discuss the book with my very excited friend, I realized that I did not like Evelyn Hugo at all. Have you ever known in your heart that you and a fictional character would be absolute besties? That’s not how I feel about Evelyn at all. Maybe it’s because I found such similarities between us, but she really took things way too far in so many parts of her life. She was careless with the way she treated people, she was very determined to prove – regardless of the situation. Despite the amount of times I found myself cursing Evelyn out for her actions, I will say that I do respect her. She did what she needed to do to get what she wanted from life and she made so many sacrifices along the way. Sometimes you can hate the person but respect their hustle.

Monique was essentially my self-insert. If this was a fan fiction, I would’ve given Monique my name. She’s a black woman just trying her best to move up the ranks at her job as a journalist when this beautiful opportunity just drops itself right into her lap a la Andy from The Devil Wears Prada. Monique takes it and gets what she wants from her time interviewing Evelyn, and I found myself rooting for her the most. The book tells us nothing about Monique’s success after her interviews with Evelyn but I truly hope everything worked out for her – in a world where fictional characters continue their lives after the last chapter of the book.

It’s hard to put my thoughts into words about this book because it’s about SO much. It’s about hard choices, dealing with the consequences of your decisions, falling in love, what love really means, realizing your life may not be as simple as it seems, and so much more. I’m so glad I got to read it.

Rating

Overall, I give the book five stars. It’s my first five star read of March, let’s hope there will at least one other to battle with Evelyn Hugo for the month’s crown. I really understand the hype surrounding this book and I’m so glad it was recommended to me personally, because I would’ve otherwise overlooked it. On to the next book for March!